7 Replies Latest reply on Oct 22, 2019 3:09 PM by Richard Oropeza

    Seeking records regarding father's military service

    Richard Oropeza Newbie
    Richard Oropeza Jul 31, 2019 1:33 PM

      Need to locate information for my deceased father, Cpl Lionel Oropeza, US Army, 56106315. I do know that he did basic training at Ford Ord, CA,1952, then trained at the Southwest Signal Corps Training Center at Camp San Luis Obispo, 1952 as well. Then sent overseas to Korea same year. But I don’t have any information on his platoon or his class. Also would like to his awards but his record was lost in a fire at the National Records Center in St Louis, MO. I did get some information via the FOIA but it was limited at best only dates entered and left active duty

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        • Re: Seeking records regarding father's military service
          Holly Rivet Scout
          Holly Rivet Expert Aug 1, 2019 10:19 AM (in response to Richard Oropeza)

          Hello Mr. Oropeza,

           

          Thank you for posting your question to the History Hub!

           

          There are a couple of options to find more information regarding your father’s military service.  The California State Archives holds a wealth of information about residents who served in the military as well as military bases, training camps, naval ports, etc.  Additionally, many service members from California had their branch forward an official copy of their DD-214 to the county clerks (either of residence or place of discharge).   California Government Code Section 6107(b) allows authorized persons to obtain a copy of the DD-214 they may have on file.  The San Luis Obispo County Clerk’s Office may be a great place to start.

           

          The National Archives at St. Louis holds the Morning Reports and Rosters (1947-1975), U.S. Army; Record Group 338, Records of the U. S. Army Commands.  Reserve unit rosters are not in our holdings. We do have Morning Reports for Reserve units that were called for Active Duty or Active Duty for Training (ADT).  We may also have some inactive Army Reserve unit Morning Reports from the early 1950’s, but the Army discontinued daily reports of Reserve units in April of 1953.

           

          To make an inquiry, please contact the Archival Division Program by email or letter:

           

          National Archives at St. Louis

          ATTN: RL-SL

          PO Box 38757

          St. Louis, MO 63138

          stl.archives@nara.gov

           

          Researchers must specify the organizational unit and date. NARA staff can then use an index to locate the microfilm reel or paper report.  Upon request, we will provide digitized images on DVD of organizational records, each taken from a roll of microfilm created by the Army in the 1950s and 1960s.  The original paper documents no longer exist. The response time for future requests may be six or more months, depending upon our available resources and the total volume of requests received.

           

          If you would like to personally view the rosters or morning reports, we will make them available, by appointment only, in our Archival Research Room located at the National Personnel Records Center, Archival Research Room, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO  63138. For a small fee, you may print copies of the pages you want from the microfilm. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Archival Research Room in advance, by phone at (314) 801-0850 or by email at stlarr.archives@nara.gov.

           

          We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!

           

          Holly Rivet

           

           

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            • Re: Seeking records regarding father's military service
              Richard Oropeza Newbie
              Richard Oropeza Sep 13, 2019 9:38 PM (in response to Holly Rivet)

              Ms Rivet, contacting the City of San Luis Obispo County Clerk office was a waste of time since this was not the county in which he came back to live after Korea. That was Los Angeles County, same thing there dead end, it was never filed with the county office. My next step is to try and find his unit muster logs from Korea. Since the only unit he told me about was KCOMZ, which stood for the Korean Communications Zone which was a conglomerate unit that encompassed many units and many job descriptions, his MOS was 1238, pole line foreman. In Korea, that means that he would have climbed poles to string communication wire or repair the damaged wire lines. He often spoke of Long Lines but the only unit I could find was the 8226th Long Lines Bn, see photos, don’t know if he ever was in the unit: [no photos]

               

              As you can see, they did many things behind the front lines. I’m thinking about contacting NARA to check the muster logs, but since I don’t know his actual unit, it will be like a needle in a haystack and I can’t afford the cost of the research since I’m on a fixed income. He spoke of his buddies last names of Raybolt, or Raybold, a Canadian with prior military experience, Morales and Bujanda. Also spoke of Long Lines, but the only group I found in Korea was the 8226th LL Bn. To refresh your memory my father’s record book was destroy in a fire at the National Records Center In St. Louis in 1973. The way we got his dates of service was through the FBI. I still gonna try in my own way! Your help was and still is much appreciated but it keeps turning into a dead end. And with time passing everyday it gets harder and harder.

              Thank you,

              Richard Oropeza